Running files automatically

thomasadam83

How would I have a php file run automatically each night at midnight...?

Thanks.

yahelb

use php from cli ( command line interface)

and run it using crontab.

hessian

Just expanding the answer,

The crontab will work fine, if you are using unix, so we will make that assumption.

First make sure you have PHP built for CLI,

#which php
if it returns then you have it. (Uusally at /usr/local/bin/php)

So to have something run at midnight open this file:
/var/spool/cron/(USER TO RUN AS) or /var/spool/cron/crontabs/(User) depending on the version of Unix you are on.

add this line:

00 00 * /usr/local/bin/php /path/to/your/script 1> /dev/null 2> /dev/null

If you dont have control of cron you could just write something in to one of you main pages that would call it once a night as close to midnight as possible.

Weedpacket

If you don't have a command-line interface for PHP, you could use an tthp client like lynx(which you're fairly likely to have on a Unix box) to call the script via its URL. Seems a bit heavy-handed to me, though.

stolzyboy

you can also you wget, which comes installed, on RH anyway, not as heavy as lynx

SLAYeeK

If Windows server -> Use Windows Sheduler. So easy.

stolzyboy

except you can't run a PHP script with windows scheduler, unless you have PHP with a cgi, not an apache module, otherwise, you have to created a vb app that will run a PHP script, which you can then run that with windows scheduler

SLAYeeK

Originally posted by stolzyboy
except you can't run a PHP script with windows scheduler, unless you have PHP with a cgi, not an apache module, otherwise, you have to created a vb app that will run a PHP script, which you can

Command for Windows sheduler

c:/php/php.exe -q c:/path_to_script/script.php

stolzyboy

like i said, unless you have php installed as a cgi, you don't get a php.exe with apache installed as a module